Homelessness On The Rise

While those in the middle and upper middle class are seeing a reprieve, and a recovery from "The Great Recession"  The fact of the matter is that those that live in poverty last year, was 15%, down only .1% from Recession high of 15.1%.

Yes, Thankfully, the jobless rate is at its lowest in 5 years, and the stock market is setting new records, however, the bottom of the economic food chain seems to continue its struggle with little change.

This article in the Sun Sentinel points out some unsettling realites in the face of poverty, homelessness, and food stamp cutbacks.

For me, the most telling captions were

On an average night, more than 20,000 people sleep on Los Angeles' streets, and almost 2,000 of them are families or children living on their own, the city reported. Homelessness has increased 26% in Los Angeles since last year, and 16% of L.A.'s homeless were turned away for housing help.

Chicago reported an 11.4% increase in the number of homeless families since last year, with requests for emergency food assistance up 6%. City pantries had to reduce the amount of food they gave to the hungry. And homeless shelters were increasing the number of people allowed to sleep in a room to meet rising demand.

Rosenfeld Realty Advisors is involved in commercial real estate in South Florida.   As facilitators in the economy, by virtue of the fact that we focus on commercial real estate, we feel a l level of stewardship for those not yet participating in the recovery.

In whatever way you can, lend a hand, leave a comment, volunteer, better yet, give a job.   Lets continue to see this economy strengthen though our time and efforts and capital, and remember to pay particular attention to those in need to ensure that they see hope in their futures as well.

Comments welcome.